Increasing the Anointing on Spiritual Gifts
Mark 4:24-25 “Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. (25) For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
In this section we want to discuss what the saints can do to either increase or diminish the anointing on the gifts they have received. All of the gifts of the Spirit operate by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We have seen in the previous section that, depending on the measure of grace given, some receive more faith than others to operate in their gifts. Nevertheless even though we receive the measure of faith that we require to operate in our gifts, we still have a part to play with regards to the degree of anointing that we operate in. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Lord Jesus taught us this principle, for although this passage refers to the measure of God’s word that is given, the principle remains the same with regards to the measure of the Holy Spirit’s anointing on our gifts. Notice that the Lord places the onus directly on the disciple regarding the amount of revelation of God’s word that will be given to them. For He says that more will be given to the disciple that places great value on His word, while the one that places little or no value on His word will receive little and may even lose that which they already have. In the same manner, the disciple that places a greater value on their gift will receive a greater anointing to operate in their gift, while the one that places little or no value on their gift will receive less anointing and may even lose the anointing which they already have.
1 Timothy 4:14 “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.”
Disciples that place little or no value on their gifts tend to neglect their gifts. In other words they either do not use their gifts as often as they should or not at all. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul admonished Timothy not to neglect his gift. Clearly therefore even those who are called to the ministry can neglect their gifts, and so this is something that we must guard against. Nevertheless the opposite is also true; which is that disciples that place great value on their gifts are available to use them whenever the Holy Spirit prompts them to do so. In other words they are faithful stewards of the gifts they have received from the Lord.
1 Corinthians 14:12 “Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul speaks of those who are zealous for spiritual gifts, and in another passage Paul encourages believers to desire spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 14:1). So what does it mean to be zealous for spiritual gifts? Those who desire spiritual gifts and are zealous to operate in them prepare themselves by studying God’s word on the subject while spending time in prayer and fasting. Believers that do this experience a greater degree of anointing for their gifts to be manifested through them. Believers that are carnal in their thinking however, do not prepare themselves spiritually in any way and consequently experience little if any anointing to operate in their gifts.
To summarize; from our examination of the scriptures quoted in this section we have established that believers are directly responsible for the level of anointing that is displayed through their gifts. We have established that saints that are zealous for spiritual gifts experience a greater degree of anointing when they use their gifts. We have also established that saints that neglect their gifts experience a diminished degree of anointing when they use their gifts, and if they chose not to use their gifts they can lose the anointing entirely.
Michael E.B. Maher
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